Beauty and the beast
by ghostbunnieseatcheese
Summary: How could anyone do this? abandon their son, leaving him with wolves. This boy is broken beyond repair. A different version of the summoning. Derek isn't in Lyle house, he's outside of it. OCC


**AN: This is my very first darkest powers fanfic! I have been bouncing the idea around for a while and I finally found the perfect story for it to go with. A warning: for a while Chloe is going to be depressed and confused. In a few chapters that will change. Okay?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Darkest Powers *sigh* I just died a little inside.**

For me, my life was at the point in the movie where the characters were about to go right over the edge… of a cliff. This is a metaphorical cliff, of course. Things are bad, but I am not suicidal. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my uncle.

My name is Chloe Saunders. I am fifteen years old. My mom is dead. My dad doesn't care. I am mentally insane.

But I never saw that edge coming. I was driving through life peacefully. I was normal, average. The only odd thing was my height, never measuring up to the other girls.

I never considered myself crazy. Not until that day when the burnt custodian began chasing me down the school hallway, herding me into that classroom. Reaching for me with burned hands that would never touch anything again. Not doing any known physical harm to me, but leaving me with memories that would always haunt me.

I shudder, but that doesn't shake away the trauma. They say it's schizophrenia. They think I am delusional, paranoid. _Unstable_. That can't be true. I am normal. I have to be! The custodian was real! Why couldn't anyone see him.

Deep down, I know I'm not crazy, but maybe if accept that I am, I can get home faster. So I hold on to knowing I'm not crazy, like it is my parachute. But I still let myself slowly fall, hoping I will land on a trampoline when I hit the bottom.

Deep down is at the bottom of the cliff. I have to continue falling to reach the truth.

_Bump… Bump… bump, bump, bump._

The never ending, tortuous dirt road made it impossible to take a nap. I hardly got any sleep in the hospital I resided in for the past week either. So I was grumpy. And after recently learning that I am in fact schizophrenic made my mood even worse. At least the car window view of the thick forest is breathtaking.

The hired driver arrives at a fork in road. He turns right onto yet another long, long road. The Lyle house. That is all I have been told. No body has told me where I am going. No body will. Maybe I am no longer in the state of New York and about to be led to a horrifying murder. I sniffle, trying not to let the water filling my eyes fall over.

I had a choice. Go to a home for crazy kids or the option my dad bargained for. To send me away to a place where I can cope by myself, with visits from a therapist twice a week and a nanny who would take care of me daily. I did not like the sound of either, but being around kids who might try to kill me scared me more than the other option. But being in a place this secluded reminds me of a cliché horror movie. The car comes to halt in front of an comfy looking, huge cabin. I wake up my sleeping Aunt Lauren who sits next to me. She made the decision to live with me for a while, while I adjust.

_Don't think of horror movies. Don't think of horror movies. Don't think of horror movies._

Where did my dad and Aunt Lauren find this place? I struggle with thinking they are out of their mind for a moment, but I recover.

_Are you kidding? They must be out of their minds!_

Kind of.

The door to my right opens and the nameless chafer opens it, his black hat hiding his face from my sight.

"Thank you," I acknowledge. Maybe I am angry and depressed, but I am not rude. He mutters a reply, my bags are on the porch. Aunt Lauren strikes up a conversation with him, only stopping when he rudely announces he has to pick someone else up. It doesn't faze Aunt Lauren.

"What do you think, Chloe? I think it looks gorgeous!" She mutters to herself, going as far as reaching inside her purse to grab the brochure. She holds it up to the sky, comparing it to real thing.

"It looks great, Aunt Lauren." I say. And it does. The thick woods. The pretty songs of the birds. The two large ponds on both sides of the cabin. At one lake, two canoes lay on the ground, next to a small storage house. By the other is a dock and a rope swing hanging from a tree. The sun begins to set, casting a beautiful glow on the water. I decide where I will spend my time.

"But, what awful service! Just drop off our things on the porch, we can lift them! Where are the employees?" She goes off, leading me inside. "Don't bother with your suitcase, Chloe. There has to be someone inside that will get it for us." She goes on and on and on. I block her out, not really meaning to.

I don't pay attention to the interior of the cabin. I'm too busy trying to keep my eyes open. The inside is beautiful too, attempting to be homey. And it succeeds. I hate it, so much. And I dislike my self a little bit more for that. I used to be so easy going. I want it back.

But that won't happen until I get out of this place. So I have to stick to the plan. Do that and I will be normal again.

An older woman walks out, greeting Aunt Lauren and introducing the staff who appear out of no where. The names make no sense comprehendible right now. My eyes blink to remain open. It was a long car ride. Aunt Lauren comes to my rescue.

"Can you escort us to our rooms, please? I think Chloe needs a nap before supper." She tells the nanny while pulling me to her side. The top of my head reaches her shoulders. But I don't think about it because I watch behind them as a candle lights by itself. No one but a grinning caramel skinned girl standing nearby. The room she is in is dark except for the candle. Its light reflects in her eyes.

"T-t-t-there are other kids here?" I ask, my stutter becoming apparent. The lunatic girl doesn't hear though, she just watches the candle as it goes off and on.

"Yes, Chloe. Five other children around your age." the nanny continues talking, but I don't listen. The girl reaches her hand out, placing it in the flame. She holds it there, watching the fire flicker around her palm. It burns her and she smiles in content. Burns. Burning custodians. Hands. Hands reaching out from fire.

"Don't touch it!" I yell across the room, hoping she can hear it. The employees jump at my yell, thinking they are firsthand witnessing my mental illness. I point though and they turn around, realizing there is another student worse off then me.

"Rachelle!" Two workers rush over to the girl named Rachelle, they rip her away from the candle, pulling her into another room.

"We'll just lead you to your rooms, now." The nanny says. She gesturing to someone for them to take our bags. She leads us up a flight of stairs, brushing off the fact that a teenage girl just self harmed herself.

Aunt Lauren's room is right across the hall from mine. My new room is plain. Nothing on the walls. A cream colored comforter on the bed that reminds me of eggs, smells like them too. But I get under the covers eagerly, ready to fall asleep.

But I can't. Fire controls my mind. Flames licking at every corner of my brain. It takes over. My last thoughts are of a single flame though, a reflection in a mad girl's crazy copper eyes.

I wake up from my nap later, unable to sleep because of the haunting nightmares. They all take place in this house. Unseen things lurking in the unexplored shadows. Bodies buried shallowly within the walls. Stains off blood on the bed.

I shiver, not because I'm cold. It's really too dark in this room. I really hate the dark. I wish I brought my nightlight. But I was worried that other would consider me immature. So I was insecure, not bringing it. This room scares me more than it should.

A growl interrupts my thoughts, making me jump. That is until I realize, it is my stomach. What time is it? When is supper? I check my watch. Exactly twelve o' clock. I missed supper by six hours. My stomach groans in agony. I'm so tired and kind of delusional right now, it almost makes me cry. It is probably just the fact that I'm here though and not at home where Annette would have something in stored in the fridge for me. My dad is not here, we never talked but I miss his company. Most of all, at my house, I was normal no matter where we moved.

Another appearance from my stomach. I need to find a snack.

I put on a robe and slippers, even going as far as grabbing an umbrella to use as a weapon in case I run into any other house mates. The stairs creak. Everyone of them. It makes me wonder who lives in the rooms along the stairs. What if someone hears me and breaks out of their room wielding a knife.

I look down and realize _I_ am the physco holding the umbrella, ready to whack someone's head of at a moment's notice.

I reach the bottom floor. A bluish glow is cast around the room, I glance at the full moon outside. One big horror movie. I move along, realizing that I have no clue where the kitchen is.

I hear a sound. Skittish as always, I jump. I hold the umbrella in front of my face. It sounds girlish. Like a giggle. It reminds me of any horror movie I have ever seen. I backtrack, walking up a few stairs again. I change my mind though. If I can get into the kitchen and eat a chip or two, I'll die happy.

The giggle. There it is again. It bursts, exploding into laughter. I turn frantically, trying to find out where it comes from. I keep spinning. A face. I scream. A girl stands before me, with a candle. The same girl who played with the fire earlier. I keep screaming.

"Shush! They'll know we're down here." She whispers. I can't quit staring at her candle. I want it blown out.

"Oh, You're the girl who got me caught! Sorry for freaking you out. But as you can see, I'm not burned." She smiles at me as she holds out her hand. "I can't get burned by fire."

I nod my head hesitantly.

"Oh! My name is Rae. And you are the new girl. Your name?" The sassy girl asks me. I take a deep breath to calm down.

"I-I-I'm Chloe. Chloe Saunders." I say. For a short moment an awkward silence falls over us. Finally, I get enough courage together for a question.

"S-so do you know where the kitchen is?" I ask shyly. Rae stares at me for a while. Then she explodes laughing. I want to remind her that _she_ was the one who just shushed _me_. But I take the moment to be happy that this girl does not want to kill me or hate me.

Through gasps of air, Rae says, "Sure that's just where I was going. Follow me." She walks and I follow as she heads towards the room where I entered. Then to a door right off the main room. The kitchen! Food!

"Here we go. But just to tell you, don't get your hopes up. Lyle house is in to their health food. But then again, you look like you like your veggies." Rae eyes me. I self-consciously cover my body by crossing my arms.

She opens the fridge door, pulling out a tray of carrots and apples. From a cabinet, she pulls out a case of juice boxes. "I love these juice boxes. Best tasting things here."

"That stinks," I squeak out, not knowing what to say. We sit down, making some small talk. I find it is easy to talk to Rae. She has one of those bubbly, easy going personalities. She even gets me laughing.

"So got any hobbies?" She asks.

"Movies, defiantly movies," I say, "I want to be a screenwriter or director one day. That is if I ever get out of here." I look down at the plate, realizing I ate through the entire tray while Rae drank all the juice boxes. I let out a short laugh.

"You'll get out of here someday. Don't worry about it." she reassures me, " And hey! You haven't even seen the basement yet. Oh, I have to show you!" Rae exclaims.

"T-t-the basement?" I ask, scared to death. I have always hated basements. Something about the shadows and what lurks behind them. I shake that thought away. Nothing lives in the shadows.

_Monsters aren't real, Chloe._

"Yeah, it's like our game room." She answers. Somehow that doesn't calm me down. That would be a perfect line for a horror movie.

I get up and follow her though as she leads me through the house and down a flight of stairs. What if Rae is wrong, I wonder. What if, I will never get out of here? If I just remain here until I go so crazy, and they just put in a real mental home? What about my future, college, falling in love, being normal?

"Okay, so the nurses don't come down here much, so we are pretty much in the clear. Over the past few years, kids have been able to smuggle electronics in here. Most of them were rich, so they just leave it here. One rule: What you take out, must go back. No need to get caught when you got a good thing going." Rae says as she bends over to ply open a loose floorboard. She motions over to me. I bend over beside her, actually impressed about the hidden stash of video games, cell phones, candy.

Then I heard it again. A giggle. I jump.

"Do you hear that?" I ask Rae. She's not really paying attention. Just engrossed with the stash.

"Hear what?" she asks as she grabs a Nintendo DS from the hole in the floor. She closes the board and slides across the floor in slippery socks and sits down again. This board opens to a delicious smell. "I guess I could of taken you right down here… Oh well. Pick." Rae demands.

"I'll take the cookies and a water. Now, the giggle. Did you hear it?" I repeat to her as she hands me my choice of food. I wonder if it is my craziness getting to me again. What if the giggle is not real? If a tree falls in the forest and no one was around to hear it…

"You heard a giggle?" Rae turns to face me. "Crap." She says seriously, no sign of joking in her eyes.

"What?" I ask again. Maybe _I'm _not crazy. _Rae_ is. Or maybe we're both crazy. That's the only reasonable explanation for both of us being sent to a crazy home. Oh my gosh, I am so sleep deprived.

"Not what. Who." She pauses for a second. "And by who I mean Hitler reincarnated into a teenage girl and her best friend." Her answer makes no sense, so I just dig into my cookie stash, glad we can all just share our craziness equally. Oh, I need sleep.

"Oh, Rae! Is that chips I smell? You really need to lay of them, you know. I can totally get you an account at the weight watchers I go to. Who's the squirt?" A voice calls out from down the hall. A girl with short, spiky black hair peeks out from behind a door. A big, fake smile plastered on her face.

"Tori." Rae mutters under her breath like the name is a harsh curse. The girl just mentioned begins to walk over to us pulling a much nicer looking girl behind her.

Today, I learned that the root of all evil is a brunette, teenage girl named Tori.

**AN: REVIEW, please! I need feedback. I haven't posted a story in forever so yeah… **


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